I have to agree with Bill T. After all, as the maker of one of the best, if not the best crossbow available, it's a given that he knows just a "little bit" about crossbows.
When he says that certain string material can be dangerous, he is absolutely right.
Before anyone decides to experiment with different string materials, they should do some research.
After I did some research, I chose
Brownell TS Plus. Unlike it's predecessor,
TS-1, which was made from Spectra, TS Plus is now made from
Dyneema.
Spectra is actually Honeywell's trademark name for the material used to make FastFlight strings.
One might ask, what is the difference between Spectra and Dyneema?
The answer, not very much. Both products are HMPE (high modulus polyethlene) materials.
There are two slight differences between, Spectra and Dyneema, the number of filaments and the actual makeup of the yarn. neither of which really effect the performance when the material is used as an archery bowstring.
Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia Dictionary:
Dyneema or Spectra is a synthetic fiber based on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene which is 15 times stronger than steel and up to 40% stronger than Kevlar. It is usually used in bulletproof vests, bow strings, climbing equipment, fishing line and high performance sails in yachting. Dyneema was invented by DSM in 1979. It has been in commercial production since 1990 at a plant in Heerlen, the Netherlands. In the Far East, DSM has a cooperation agreement with Toyobo Co. for commercial production in Japan. In the United States, DSM has a production facility in Greenville, North Carolina which is the largest production facility in the United States for UHMWPE fiber. Honeywell has developed a chemically identical product on its own. The Honeywell product is sold under the brand name Spectra. Though the production details will undoubtedly be different, the resulting materials are comparable.
If Bill T. recommends using FastFlight then, from reading the above, I would have to think that since Spectra (FastFlight) and Dyneema are comparable materials, Dyneema can be used safely.
Perhaps when Bill T. says that when Dyneema was used, it caused damage to both magtips and limbs, he's referiring to the "Excel" Endless Loop".
I never did like the Excel string
If I'm not mistaken, those Endless loop strings were made from either Brownell Ultra Cam, which is comprised of 56% Vectran and 44% HMPE, or Brownell X-Cell, made from a combination of 1/3Vectran and 2/3 Dyneema.
LCP (Vectran®) , (made from high-modulus fibers produced by melt-spinning from thermotropic liquid crystalline aromatic polyester)
has zero creep, and more than likely was the reason for the damage.
So if you're going to make your own strings for your Excalibur crossbow, I would suggest you stay away from any string material that contains Vectran®. Beside the two Brownell string materials named above, BCY's 450 Plus, and 452X also contain Vectran.
